


My World Falls Down For You

by Left_In_The_Wreckage



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Left_In_The_Wreckage/pseuds/Left_In_The_Wreckage
Summary: Three years prior, Sarah solved the "impossible" labyrinth and refused the affections of a Goblin King, to return to a realm where she feels unloved and unwanted. With her only ally, little Tobias, she wonders why she thought to return to a place where she is alone in nearly all senses of the word. Abandoned by her friends two years after she left them an the Labyrinth, and uncertain as to how the Goblin King feels, she is too stubborn to wish herself back, still wishing to deny her own traitorous heart to save herself from the pain and her pride.And Jareth? ...To say he was outraged would be an understatement, saying he handled things with decorum... was stretching the truth. He wasn't sure what to do with himself, so he did all he knew how to, be the Goblin King he always had been, and brood, menacingly.A new game has been started however, and now they fight each other across a different battlefield entirely. Who will budge first? What of the rules? Well... rules can stand to be broken once or twice. How far will the two of them go to stand the ground before either give into anything remotely akin to admission?





	1. It Hurts Like Hell, If It Ever Existed At All

**Author's Note:**

> A bit draftier than most of my other works... course that just means I don't fret over this one as much, I just write where the words take me and try not to over think it and work on alternate chapters to test how they fit the plot, etc... I skip a few of my usual steps with this one.
> 
> Not sure when the other chapter swill come out, honestly.
> 
> P.S I am moving this work to this site from my account on Wattpad, (Jadecrossroads), there is no copyright infringement here.
> 
> I published this on Wattpad sometime in October, actually.

**It Hurts Like Hell, If It Ever Existed At All**

 

Three years prior, or rather, three years hence, gave Jareth abundant time to mull over the events that transpired within his very own labyrinth, heart, and mind. For there was no sanctuary from those piercing words that even now venomously rang within the confines of his very being. He was bound to listen, to obey and respond as was due to such a command. Words had power he had told her, and he hadn’t lied.

He was forced to send her home. There was no loophole, no argument that could save him from the involuntary action, even if Sarah herself had wished it once those words were said.

He sat sprawled horizontally across his throne, unconsciously juggling and balancing a handful of his trademark crystals in his otherwise idle hand. The other tapped away to the rhythm of a song he still couldn't bring himself to hate, because he had sung in for  _ her _ , and she had been enchanted so thoroughly by it. Until she wasn't, and she woke up.

He didn't dare to so much as glance at them. The temptation was already getting to him. Again. It would be so simple, to summon an image of the girl, to watch her as he often did. His will was a strong as hers though, wasn't it? Yet he struggles with it, he always had to see her, if even for a mere flicker of a second. Or so he told himself, because in reality, it was never enough to satisfy him.

He was as of yet uncertain what it was he truly wished to accomplish. He felt he could strangle her for all the grief and frustration she caused him, or reason that perhaps he could deceive her into saying the right words to wish  _ her _ away and into his arms once more. He almost had, would have already had another notion not occurred to him and disrupted the track his thoughts had been racing towards.

_ What then? _

It was a simple enough question, but it was one he didn't know how to answer.

Jareth, Goblin King and ruler of the impossible labyrinth, had offered a simple, dreamy eyed child of man the world, her heart's desire, and more. He promised her  _ everything _ . He offered his kingdom, the stars, and any other impossible dream her vivid imagination could conceive without so much as batting an eye. Her every wish, just a word away, or none at all of she wanted. Far closer than the words she found just beyond her reach, barely out of memory, but she remembered them all the same. The realization as it dawned upon her face was the most terrifying thing Jareth had ever witnessed, but still he offered, reluctant to stand down when he asked for so little. Her love, her respect, and her hand. In that moment he would even have made due with her merely staying at his side. His generosity, however, was lost on her then, as he should have recognized, should have braced himself for, hardened his heart against, but it lay open and vulnerable and waiting. So gullibly, ignorantly, foolishly pleading in a silent agony she ignored so mercilessly. Leaving him to a broken castle, broken in every meaning of the word. Yes, he had been warned of the children of men, the more beautiful they were, the more cruel the backlash. He was indeed foolish to think she would willingly-

He stopped, a tear falling, and betraying what he so tried to disguise. He fought to hide it once again behind a familiar mask, indifference, before he allowed his retreat back to his thoughts within the far reaches of his mind. To the goblins, it would only appear that their king was staring off into space.

He gave himself to her, would have willingly begged in that moment she looked at him in triumph, just before she left him to pick up the pieces, if she would only tell him what he so desired to hear from her lips, but to no end. She refused him. He had been rejected! His brows furrowed now, the direction of his thoughts changing once again.

She'd made it clear that she harbored no affections towards him, yet when they danced he knew she felt  _ somethin _ _ g _ . It was what held her there, at least, at first it had. That something had her enamored and trapped within such a between place of time. Humans couldn't hide such things as well as Fae.  _ What could it have been? _

Perhaps it was more than just indecision that ailed the Goblin King, or was it hope? He hadn't dreamt of hope in a long time, how could he? Life was unfair, and love and reality were the cruelest mistresses of all.

So now, instead of holding her close, or doing something about his circumstance, he wasn't doing much of anything at all, aside from watching her and fighting the urge to. He only stared at the stone floor, or the ceiling as his position allowed, remembering.

He proceeded to avoid watching over his beloved and loathed seductress until his will broke again, and no thing could sway him from it. He wouldn't admit it, but it was not merely the first time of many, staring into the depths of the crystals. Searching and scrying for the girl who could not forget, the one he could not forget. She wasn't the first who beat the labyrinth and his king... but she would certainly be the last in his long life. Everyone else had forgotten almost entirely.   
  
Occasionally  when he thought himself alone, he stared and muttered things like "pity" and "such sad, cruel eyes..." before tossing the thing to the floor of the the one room or the balcony where he watched the sunsets, the stars, and time move on when he could not. Would he wallow in this emptiness, this anguish, this depressed love sickness forever, he wondered. He refused to accept it, but it changed little.

And then he noticed the rumors spreading throughout the realms that Jareth, King of Goblins, was love sick.

He had suppressed them, naturally. Stamped them out for good, but it was no less true. It was enough that to use some cheap trick to make her love him would sicken him. Nor could he harm her, and he refused outright to plead for her return, to stay, to love him. Neither would satisfy him, and his pride also restrained him on both accounts. He would get her back some other way.

He had offered her everything in his power to grant... and yet, when she refused, he was left with nothing. Everything he had before learning of her was empty and pointless. It tormented his dreams to no end.

There were no words that could express how he would pity and loathe himself for this weakness, the girl who reduced The Goblin King to such measures and weakened him every passing day with a sickness only she could heal. Never deciding for certain just what plans he had in store for her when she  _ did _ make a mistake that he could use to his advantage.

One thing he did know? He wanted Sarah, all of her. Solely and completely his. Strong, defiant, lovely Sarah. He would have no other. But how could a villain redeem himself to the heroine, when all was said and done and history?

He supposed it was time to find out, refusing to suffer in silence any longer.


	2. Or Maybe It Froze Over And I Just Never Knew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah retells her story to a tuckered out Toby, and dreams of unwelcome memories.

**Or Maybe It Froze Over And I Just Never Knew**

 

 _What_ _no one knew, was that the Goblin King was still in love with the foolish, naive girl, now woman,_ _that_ _had left him naught but a shell of his former self. Still, unwittingly and reluctantly so, he could not hide the traitorous heart that beat within his very breast. He would have no other, though the girl had refused and rejected him. The girl would soon learn that he let no one slip away from him so easily._

_So he watched her, vowing his revenge as he did so. His grinning, mischievous expression promising the unknowing labyrinth runner, that she would return the moment he saw fit and she slipped up. He would ensure it._

  .......................................................  

Sarah was reading an old favourite of hers,, "Snow white", when she was snapped out of her little world by a most grating screech, only befitting a harpie. Or perhaps it was a banshee clambering on about her untimely death?

  "Sarah!"   Karen yelled again, her voice no longer drifting to Sarah's ears muffled , which probably meant she was on her way to her room. Well, isn't she just thoughtful coming to me to holler right in my ear. The young brunette turned her head slightly to get a better look at the clock at her bedside. She groaned inwardly.

It was only noon and already an unpleasant voice was shouting after her. What had she done this time? Nothing, absolutely nothing. She'd stayed out of the way, cleaned around the house and stayed quiet, but still that infuriating woman was calling her.

She wondered if her money would be best invested in ear plugs instead of music players. It worked for the crew of the odyssey, granted they hadn't exactly existed back then...It was much the same concept.

"Sarah!"  Karen said again, exasperated with what she had to put up with. _Honestly the girl is to infatuated with fictional characters to socialize like any normal teenager. You'd think she'd at least make an effort to do as she's told._ She thought. It was true enough, every day away from the labyrinth increased Sarah's withdrawal from the world around her. The world of books and fairy tales was the only one that felt secure anymore. The reality of it was she was unwanted, unloved and to people her age either invisible or odd. As one could assume, this only aided in her seclusion. 

Sure enough, Karen noticed she had another story book in her hands, still reading it gingerly as she stood in the doorway, waiting.reluctantly, Sarah obliged, knowing full well this couldn't be avoided. She was probably goign to tell her she was stuck babysitting Toby again whiel she and her dad went out to who knows where.

"Sarah, sweetie," Karen began, her voice a hardened sugary sweet that they both saw through. They had some understanding of each other, a truce to keep up pretenses so Toby and the girl's father didn't have to chose sides. "Your father and I are goign out tonight. Now I know we promised you'd be given a break this weekend, but we really need to go to this event it's-"

"Important, I understand you completely. You can go ahead and pile your hair on high and wear your pumps knowing I'll gladly watch Toby," she glanced up at her Step mother's hair, and then at her fine dress and shoes, as if confirming what she already knew. "In fact, I think you've already taken it upon yourself to skip ahead to that step. I do hope you love birds have fun." Sarah said, her words dripping with sarcasm, only to wear off as her last words were said in a manner suggesting she hoped the opposite, but had given up the venom behind the statement too long ago to care any longer. 

And then the wicked gold digger had the nerve to _smile_ at her. It took everything in sarah's arsenal of dealing with smug villains to hold back  the torrent of things she had really wanted to say to her.

"Well, if you say it's alright, then you and Toby have fun." She said sweetly, as she shut the door behind her, leaving only silence in her place.

  if Sarah didn't know better, she would have thought she'd actually meant that. Then again, it wasn't as if the woman was cruel altogether, just to people who got in her way, and in her opinion, Sarah was one of those unfortunate people. While they were working on their relationship here and there, bearing the white flag and all that, Karen made it abundantly clear that Sarah was not part of her family. Her father too seemed to pay more attention to Toby than his first born, but that was alright with Sarah, she was used to it, and besides, she had wished her brother away to a tyrant king. She almost got him turned into a Goblin that no one would remember.

 _The Goblin King..._ That was an unpleasant stop on the memory train.

The man, fae, king, whatever he was, confused her. He was never far from her thoughts, nor were the goblins who, to this day still managed to pillage her room of knickknacks and replace them with something else, or altogether somewhere she knew she hadn't left them.

While their king seemed to... keep his distance, for the most part. Sarah swore she'd seen him watching her through the eyes of an owl a time or two. She also felt like she was being watched, but she shrugged it off much of the time. Why would he feel the need to watch her? If he was going to to enact some devious plan, then wouldn't he have done something about it by now? It didn't make any sense to her, but she couldn't dwell on it. What's done is done, and she needed to look after Toby.

  .......................................................  

"Hey there Toby!" Sarah greeted the little tike. 

"Sarah!" He cried out in delight. He reached out his arms, wanting her to pick him up, which she did. 

"You're getting really big you know that Tobes? If you grow up any more I may not be able to pick you up anymore!" she joked as she took him to her room to find her copy of The Labyrinth. It was funny, she probably should have hated the thing, but she couldn't bring herself to. Her time spent in the labyrinth had taught her a great deal, and she had made many friends, and had the adventure she'd always wanted. Her only real complaint was the real danger of losing her brother, and the ominous Goblin king, Jareth. She could now understand what he had offered her, what he promised, what he had done that was "generous", but she still doubted he meant it. He was desperate, and it was a last minute, too-little-too late ploy to tempt her once again, as he did while they danced within the bounds of a dream induced peach. 

She wondered though, if they'd stood on equal ground, and he were to ask her again... would she have answered any differently? She shook her head as her mind wandered, reading Toby the story she had lived what felt like a short time ago. No, the Goblin King was a tyrant, untrustworthy, silver tongued, and well, he'd stolen her brother! She may have wished him away, but he seemed to take great pleasure in tormenting her with the fact! Two more things also came ot mind, cold, calculating, and yet... the man, fae, whatever haunted her dreams when she could remember them, him and his blasted death trap of a labyrinth he put her through! Besides, what did he know of her dreams? Surely nothing...

.................................................

"The girl had done it! She was free of the labyrinth, the underground and the elusive king of the goblins." Sarah read, her little brother listening as best he could as he fell asleep.

There was also the burning question of whether or not she could trust her own dreams now. Of course she knew what he'd offered her were more of an encompassing heart's desire sort of deal, things she wanted to become reality, that wasn't really what she was worried about. She was worried however, that she would unwittingly wish herself or some poor soul away, "to the castle beyond the goblin city..." Her voice trailed off. "So concerned was she, and crippling her fear, the girl avoided wishing altogether, she would not be taken by surprise again. Not when she knew what was at stake, not at the prospect of seeing him again. The king, realizing this after his defeat, only added to the weight he carried. He was loathe to admit any sign of weakness, but that did not mean he walked away unscathed by the encounter of the beautiful girl who was his equal-" She stopped then, blinking as if she were waking up from a trance. What had she just said? It didn't sound like the words she'd familiarized herself through repetition and her believing heart... The words seemed to slip out, and though she hadn't been aware she read anything other than what was already lying on the pages of the little red book. She shook her head, unable to recall any more of it. She shut _The Labyrinth_ ,and lumbered towards the doorway,  half asleep.

"I must be tired. It's been a long night, right Tobes?" she asked the tike. A moment of panic washed over her when she received no answer. Whipping her head back to where she saw him last, she slouched and leaned into the doorway, releasing the breath she was holding. She was definitely tired. What reason woudl the goblins return to take her brother, much less him? No child had been wished away within this house, Sarah had made sure of that. So why did the prospect suddenly seem so real? 

She dreamed of him again that night, only... she searched high and low for the king who entrapped her young heart, and he never appeared. She spent the entirety of the dream in a haze of forgotten promises ad disappointment. If she'd been conscious she might have laughed at the irony, she couldn't even see him in her dreams... She could just hear his voice dripping pure arrogance as he said all too clearly words she knew he hadn't meant... _"Such a pity."_

They seemed to mock her now, and though she wasn't one for self pity, she did mourn the absence of her dance partner, enemy, rival, kind... villain? None of that matter, not in the realms of sleep.


	3. Those Who Wait... You'll Be Waiting Awhile

 

Those Who Wait... You'll Be Waiting Awhile

"Sarah, my Sarah... what am I to do with you?" He watched her again now, no longer concerning himself with whether or not it was wise. He wished to see her, so he did so, though never so openly as he did now. The goblins stared at him, awaiting his command and looking hastily about. No one wanted to be the one to acknowledge how the Goblin King spoke to himself nor that they found him acting strangely as of late. No one wished to be on his bad side, especially when wishes were taken so seriously here.

He delivers his next words without tearing his gaze away from the flawless crystal. "You are all to watch over Sarah Williams and remind her of her place. Those of you who can influence dreams," he addressed those standing behind the aforementioned creatures who shuffled about. "you are to coerce her into wishing she were to return or that she'd never left. I really don't care which, just make it so she desires to be here, _with me_. I expect results." He says this as he finally fixes his concentrated stare on those gathered in the throne room as if expecting a challenge. When none came, he waved them off.

"You are dismissed." He addressed them all, but the goblins continued their intent stares, annoying him further. He would have to repeat himself, more sternly this time. "You have your orders. Now, go!" The goblin king growled, finally getting the desired reaction from the little creatures.

Jareth messaged his temples, it had been a long twenty-four hours. There were so many arrangements to be made, and much to establish amongst his subjects. Not for the first time, he found himself turning his kingdom over on its side for the girl. Unlike the last time, however, he needed to rely on his subjects to make it so.

He'd do all this himself could he have, but Sarah had taken his power to influence her to do anything, lest she already wished it. He had no dominion over her or within her world, not until she made a wish or renounced those annoying -and quite frankly, infuriatingly loophole-free- little words that bound him, a fact he detested. Until then, he kept himself busy, or tried to, there never was much he needed to do as goblin king, the majority of his subjects were easily enough dealt with, and required minimal law enforcement (threats usually sufficed), they demanded little and made no petitions for new laws. They could rule themselves to an extent, it was that they were rather annoying, even to themselves, and they were always changing rules they made only mere moments ago. They were also unintelligent many of them, and unruly if left unchecked. They were not the most consistent beings. They were, instead, incredibly mischievous, and unsurprisingly, childish. Some days he felt he reflected a few of their qualities, such as being mischievous, but while there was that, goblins were not usually very cunning.

It was a wonder he hadn't keeled over from sheer boredom or frustration.

Of course, these thoughts brought him back to the matter at hand... Sarah, _his_ Sarah, was the one to bring this all to his attention. He had been content before she showed up, and now he had it in his head that he wouldn't be able to enjoy _anything_ again until she was once more at his side. No woman had ever captivated him, never caught his eye nor so intrigued him as she. He cared deeply for her, her wellbeing, her happiness... and yet she'd wanted none of what he'd offered. He couldn't fathom it.

As circumstances were now, all the interactions he was capable of around Sarah, were either none at all, viewing her through magic, or visiting her window as an owl. The only difference being, that as an owl, he was nearer to her, but still, he could only watch from behind glass The crystals were much the same way, but the pain was no less dull, that such a solid border separated them in either case... He was unable to cross either boundary whether distance plagued him or not. It pained him, being so close, close enough to fly a short while and stumble into her embrace, and yet, not being able to so much as reach out. He'd offered her every impossible dream, knowing full well she was the only thing he dreamt of himself, the only thing he desired that he couldn't conjure. He had the power to gift people their dreams, or at the very least shed light on them. It was ironic, that with all the power he possessed he could do none of it for himself, but then, he had never needed to. He'd never had reason to want to.

To have one's heart beat, bleed and call out to another so blissfully ignorant... That wasn't the only reason he'd stopped seeing her thus, for as an owl, he could see the truth. He bore no true animosity towards her, he desired and yearned for her, even after all she had done, and he was consumed by it when in that form as he watched over her. It was a guise that took on different depths than he initially acknowledged within himself. He was... lonely, and hurt. He could hold the pretense of a revenge scheme whilst he stood as the goblin king, but it was another entirely when he was granted the greater eyes of the insightful raptor.

There was no way around it. He needed Sarah to be there. Every waking moment or that of idleness was a reminder that she was not. He'd exhausted himself trying to please her and ended up a laughing stock and a shell of his former self. His pride was hurt, and the worst of all these afflictions was knowing he could do nothing but wait. He could never fully recover, however, until she came back, to his world, to the labyrinth and to him. He'd offered himself to her, set his heart out on a plate, only to have it stabbed in the ugliest fashion.

He'd been a fool to leave such propositions to a child. Well, petulant child, she was no longer, his vixen was now a woman who could understand the love he offered. He may have sought naught but self-destruction, and even revenge the first moments in the isolation of his broken realm, but now, she would be his. His driving force of self-preservation was revenge, of a kind... Nothing would satisfy him more than proving to her that she made a false move, as he held her close. She'd give in. He already knew her home life was no fairy tale, he'd get her back, begging to stay. Just as he had begged her to years ago.

He hadn't understood then, why she'd left in the first place. It wasn't as if she wanted to return. Was it spite? Sheer stubbornness of will even? Then something occurred to him, something curious. "Must have done it to save her brother..." he murmured. Suddenly he felt less like a fool of a king and more like the villain he portrayed himself to be. It seemed that the very reason he'd used to bring her to him, was the very means to her leaving him and the beginning of his defeat as well. Regaining Toby was pointless then, Sarah wouldn't take kindly to that. She wouldn't see that he had become a part of the labyrinth, that he would be happier there. She would only try to free him and then leave. Again. Of course, he could arrange it so she'd wish herself away to him to save him, and then he'd offer a deal she couldn't turn down,... No, he dismissed the notion. He wasn't that cruel. He wasn't even sure where he'd gotten that thought from, it certainly wasn't a fairy tale he was familiar with. It seemed the kind of thing even Sarah would turn her nose up at, especially knowing him, and having lived through one of her own.

He had been... unfair to her when last they spoke and he'd... cheated a little... but that had been justified! It was his kingdom after all, and he'd given her so much for so little. To think, offer the girl all her dreams and 13 hours to rethink that offer... to claim them... She destroys half the kingdom, turned once loyal subjects into rebels, sent the rest of his subjects into questioning his authority- if they were not left thoroughly shaken by the might of an above-grounder. Setting those matters to rights was no small feat. Still, he offered her more, gave her a taste of her dreams that only he could offer. He quickly chose one of sophistication and brilliance, one that she would otherwise be forced to abandon should she resign to the expectations thrust upon her by the above world. He'd dressed her in a gown of moonbeams and starlight, whilst silver leaves adorned her raven feather hair/ pretty little head. Still, her hair cradled her face as she searched for someone, searched for him and something lost, almost forgotten, something important to her. He'd even danced with her! He held her in his arms and held gaze for a wondrous eternity. Each the other's obsession... but also distraction.

He took no notice of the time himself, knowing only that soon her time would run out, and it would be far too late for either of them to go back to before. She would forget everything but remember him and the feelings he awakened within her. She would never know what she lost, and so there would be nothing to which he could return her to. Not when she wished to stay, not after she'd bitten into the flesh of the enchanted peach that transported her here into a living dream. Not after the thirteenth hour, not after he'd gotten her to dance to his tune. He knew he'd successfully whisked her away. It had all been so perfect, but he'd grown careless, clumsy. He failed to realize the clock that had slipped into being until it chimed, and the perfect little dream world he'd created out of nothing to stall her, to distract, woo and enchant her, crumbled. Unceremoniously they were both cast out of it and woke to find themselves welcomed in the waking to less than comfortable surroundings.

The next thing he knew he faced her again. all had fallen apart, his illusion broken, to once again save her from injury and mortal death as she leaped from the edge of the Escher room. It was then that he knew he wanted her, could no longer deny he was more than merely infatuated. She was defiant, selfless to a fault, and her dreams would be so easily fulfilled with him at her side. He wouldn't even have need of magic, they had such similar interests, and she proved to be his match. He'd never been bested before, while he was not pleased with that fact, he found he harbored no ill will. He was not used to defeat, but he was glad it was her. If it had been anyone else, well... The thought made him smirk wickedly.

He could have readily provided her with anything she wished for, but by then it was too late. He'd kidnapped her brother, nearly gotten her killed, though he'd never have let that happen...( He only intended for her to give up) and he tricked her. He went as far as to stall her with a sleep- inducing peach and glamour. He'd robbed her of precious hours she could have used to save aforementioned sibling. And for what? To keep her for himself?

By all rights, she shouldn't have been allowed to leave. She'd spent an additional hour within the labyrinth, where he should have sealed off her way back. Why had he let her go? He'd held back, wanting to appear generous, though exhausted he was from trying to please her already. He wanted to prove one last time, in one final attempt that he could be generous before he turned towards acting cruel. He knew he had claimed to her, but he was reluctant to enforce such an underhanded card. Besides, there should have been no way for her to defy him when he lay his heart bare for her, and made his proposal once more, so he thought. She had eaten their food, more specifically, a peach, the first to grow that season, from the tree he'd grown himself. He'd sung for her, to her, danced with her, deprived her of nothing. Still, he would not claim her, not yet. He admired her free spirit, and doing so would not sustain it, nor would she remain his equal if he were to order her about in such fashion as to bind her without consent, besides, that was not how things were done. He'd always thought it perverse and twisted as it was. No, he wanted more for Sarah than that. She would have to want to stay of her own free will, no need to face her wrath needlessly. He could be convincing when he wanted to be, and though he could do nothing as of yet, he was not without options, besides, indirect influence was not beyond the limitation she'd imposed upon him.

All he wanted was her love, her affection, her respect. He acknowledged her as his equal, even before she proclaimed herself as such. He'd just asked in the wrong way. He should have offered it to her before, not while he was desperate. It sounded to her like a plea, another manipulation, though he'd manipulated her not at all, she didn't see it that way. He'd thought he'd have time, that she'd forget and tarry too long to be able to leave. He thought she'd choose to stay, even when he realized that was no longer possible. How could one choose "reality" when one world was just as substantial as the other and happier still? She could be happy right now, but she decided to forgo wishing of any kind, and all dreams were pushed aside if they were fanciful enough to lead her astray, lead her back to him, or to cause her pain.

And yet, in her dreams... they call to the goblin king, and all he can do is sit back and watch restlessly. Despite his inability to interfere as he so desired, in equal measures, he alone haunted her dreams and nightmares. In her daydreams, she wonders after _what if...'s_ the likes of which he'd only come across within his own wandering mind. _What if she stayed?_ Of course, she would only shake herself awake to again cast them aside, where they receded like waves. Much like tides, however, they would too approach, a creeping trickle before one was pulled back into the depths, though achingly slow as molasses or that of a trailing snail or a tortoise that had witnessed its thousandth year. It was only within the true depths of her dreaming subconscious that she unabashedly dreamt of him and beckoned him to her side, but he still had no true jurisdiction there, he could only hold her at arm's length, and any words he'd whisper to her, no matter their importance would only be half remembered as she woke from them. It's nothing short of torment for the fae... still he keeps a close eye on the child of man that consumed his thoughts. If she had but loved him, feared that she may lose him as he did her, and indulged him as he too did her... time and time and time again.

_What might have become of them!_

He would just have content himself with waiting. So be it, he could be patient. He could bide his time running his kingdom the way he had before he'd seen her. Before she'd changed everything.


	4. An Indirect Invitation Towards An Unwanted Guest (Part 1)

  
Welp, Karen had finally done it. Waking up that day had appeared quiet amidst the birdsong. That ought to have been her first clue. As it was, Sarah hadn't paid it much thought. It was just another day, one she'd spend being avoided at the public park in the morning, and her afternoon watching her little brother.  When Sarah's step mother ushered in a young man about her age, into the living room with a promise of tea and fresh tea cakes, however... 

  Well, in her present predicament she almost mistook her boring routine for the ideal. 

The said harpie was making small talk and flashing that smile that strangers took for warmth. She was scheming again, and it had been obvious to Sarah just what she had planned before her gaze met hers from where she stood within the doorway. It was then too, that Sarah knew without a doubt that if she turned this down, this wouldn't be the end of it.

"Hello, Sarah, we were just talking about you! It's just as well you showed up though, I have to fetch the cakes out of the oven." With all the ceremony of a hollywood star, the woman that was the bane of Sarah's existence left her step daughter without so much as an introduction to the stranger sitting on their couch. She hadn't even bothered to ask if Sarah wanted to speak with him, much less hold a conversation. It was then that he cleared his throat and spoke, drawing the girl from her internal rage.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sarah." The copper haired man greeted, coming to a stand. Sarah took in his appearance, he was almost handsome, and maybe he would have been, if his eyes did not portray the way he held himself. This one was anything but modest. Sarah wondered how she came to that conclusion later, but it rang true as she would see by the course of the evening.

* * *

 

A loud grunt and an unlady like slam of an old wooden door, and Sarah had officially (if unacceptably rude) extracted herself from the unpleasant company downstairs. She could just hear the coaxing tone Karen used to console the wounded pride of the pig downstairs.

She treated him with as much attachment she would pay chewed gum on the underside of her shoe. Which was to say Karen woudl have a word or two with her later on manners, all the good they did her in the presence of stuck up, self absorbed, know it alls of the male gender. Guys like this...she nearly laughed when she realized she hadn't so much remembered what letter his name even began with. It wasn't important though, what was important, was the way he at first reminded her of a certain king. That was, until he managed to make even Jareth look a saint. She would be lying if she said she hadn't thought of wishing him away so the tyrant could judge him as he would, or at least wish herself away so she could escape her step mother's list of potential suitors. 

That most certainly was a thought, one that took up much of her attention during her little chat over tea with the insufferable. Odder still, she'd meant it, had half a mind to do so even now, freed from that... delightful conversation for now. It would only be a matter of time before the screeching of the woman downstairs would clamber on about how she should take this seriously. Can't wind up alone forever without someone there to interfere with all the values I stand for, is that it? Sarah's inner voice whined. Honestly, she was better off running the labyrinth, she almost preferred those prospects more than having to put up with another afternoon of entertaining another spoiled rich boy who happened to take a fancy to her. Besides... it wasn't as if she hadn't thought about finding someone, it was only that- She shook her head, what did it matter? She couldn't very well return to the castle beyond the goblin city, much less to him. It was absurd and yet... it was all that consumed her thoughts these days.

It wouldn't be so hard, just a small little wish, and she would have an answer to her questions. Then again, when had he ever given her a straight answer? She'd only known the king for a measly 13 hours, less if you counted for the time he stole from her. Was that really enough time to place judgement, to claim to understand him? It wasn't as if they'd spoken much within those hours either, she'd been running, and he... took it upon himself to simply appear whenever he wished to distract her.

She'd tried desperately to keep these thoughts and memories at bay when she could, and she was beginning ot remember why. His offer. The one she declined without so much as considering it.

Maybe... maybe a wish wouldn't hurt anything? If she was to truly leave the past behind her to suffer through graceless suitors, she wanted answers.

To think, that's what she called it, who even said suitors anymore? It was an outdated term, and its connotations not the most pleasant from Sarah's history lessons. What was she then? Some blushing, empty headed, thing to be lead away by the first handsome face to compliment her hair? Never! she refused the goblin king, bognabbit!

"I wish the Goblin King could give me a straight answer." She said aloud, half asleep as her eyes shut closed to the world to dream.

* * *

 

She'd fallen asleep, and her even breaths calmed him. Jareth wished he could be there to wipe her tears, but he knew he wasn't welcome, besides, he could not. Not until he was invited. It was a crutch he detested immensely. "Such a pity..." he sighed, his voice carrying all the tones of sorrow and regret it could manage.

He wouldn't have recognized it, his voice, had he noticed it. For all he could hear were Sarah's mummers in sleep. She called for him, desperate and... hopeful? No, that couldn't be right. He was only hearing what he wanted to, after all, she had banished him from her world until she permitted otherwise. Aside from that, the dream weavers had scarcely begun their task of compelling Sarah to call upon him. It was really beginning to grate on his nerves that. It would take precious time he wasn't willing to wait for such a thing to work. She had to truly believe it to be what she desired, more than anything. If it was not just wishful thinking however.... he smiled, perhaps he could not visit her in the waking world uninvited, but then, he could use her calling his name as a kind of summons.... He shook his head of the idea, but a glimmer of mischief, or perhaps a hope flickered there, refusing to be snuffed out so easily. If she called out for him in her dreams, then who was he to ignore her pleas? It was all he needed to enter her dreams, and he wouldn't be so fickle as to ignore the opportunity to again be closer to Sarah. It was even comforting, that even without his influencing her she would dream of him. Fitting even, and who would he be to ignore such an invitation?

It meant he had another chance to steal her away quietly before he took to drastic measures to bring her back. He wasn't one to complain if his plans were thrown out due to more pleasant alternatives. He grinned, and sent for his best attire. He would look his best, this was the first in ages that he had been allowed to visit Sarah as himself, and it called for decorum and diplomacy. He had no doubt it would take the better part of an eternity to convince her to accept his courtship, but he was confident, if a tad arrogant, of his success.

And why shouldn't I be anything less?, he thought, descending upon earthy planes by the wings of the proud barn owl, his heart wild and alive. He willed the paths between worlds pass over him without a glance backward, and spurred onward into dreams of grandeur. It would be like before, but this time, as he shed the guise of feather and wing, he would give her a reason to stay. No, a reason to return, or else risk her forgetting. That would be the most painful, perhaps... to be cast aside after being so spurned, and then so aptly- He shook his head, blond hair flying at the motion. He wouldn't let it come to that.

 


End file.
